The eBay auction for this 1963 Pontiac LeMans Tempest started out innocently enough. Obtained after owner died. Appears to have original interior but no motor, no transmission. Body has a little rust and some dents. There's stuff in the trunk, but no key to open it. Opening bid nine days ago was a mere $500. After one week, eBay seller 123ecklin will pocket $226,521 before auction fees. What happened between Day 1 and Day 9 is an amazing story.

The car's plexiglass windows, unusual suspension setup and a dash plate bearing the name of a racetrack tipped the owner to its racing history. But what he didn't know is that the car is one of only six 1963 Pontiac LeMans Tempest Super Duty coupes ever made. Hemmings recently did a story on the rare cars in which they listed all ever built. This one looks to have been driven by Stan Antlocer and was the fastest drag car in 1963 before disappearing.

Reading through the questions on the auction gives us reason to believe the seller truly didn't know the car's provenance. In his answers, he seems both surprised by the car's potential value as well as overwhelmed by the attention. He turned down an offer of $160,000 to end the auction early because he feared getting negative eBay feedback. That decision paid off. With only seven minutes remaining, the highest offer was $95,000. When the virtual gavel fell, eBayer ccsi2000 had bought a very rare, if a little rusty, LeMans for $226,521.

Link for story and pics (http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/10/ebay-find-of-the-day-1963-lemans-tempest-sells-for-226-521/)

MDH33

11-14-2008, 03:08 PM

cool. :cool:

I still have hope that I'll find an unmolested FJ45 pickup in a barn someday that the owner will sell to me for next to nothing. :rolleyes: ;) :D

rover67

11-14-2008, 03:37 PM

if motoloco dosen't find it first..

Red_Chili

11-14-2008, 04:10 PM

Don't post it here...
:lmao:

Reminds me of when I sold my Ducati F1A and thought I was doing well to get $2k less than what I paid for it... you should price them now. Wah.